Head Injury and Brain Ischemia: Monitoring and Prediction of Outcome

Abstract

Neuropathological data from the early 1970’s demonstrated ischemic brain damage in 91% of severely head-injured patients who died at the Institute of Neurological Sciences in Glasgow. About 40% of these patients had spoken at some time after their injury and before death, suggesting that ischemic brain damage occurred after the patient came under medical care, providing an opportunity for prevention of ischemic damage in these patients [1].